Central London house prices set for sharp upturn on Brexit deal October 31, 2018 Central London’s waning high-end property market could be set for a resurgence over the next five years, with a new report forecasting that prime house prices could rocket by more than 15 per cent if an expected bounce in confidence returns to the capital. Despite stamp duty changes and political volatility causing a slowdown in [...]
Profiting from the retail revolution: What’s hot and what’s not? January 15, 2019 It turns out that so-called Super Thursday wasn’t so super after all. Despite being lauded as a day when retailers boast strong figures from the festive period, last Thursday proved to be a mixed basket of results. With consumers feeling the pinch and Brexit-sized uncertainty looming large over the high street, it’s not surprising that [...]
Manufacturing PMI offers ‘crumb of positive news’ amid lacklustre conditions and Brexit uncertainty December 3, 2018 The UK manufacturing sector offered “a crumb of positive news” this morning as it announced the rate of improvement for business conditions improved slightly in November, but remained relatively subdued as the inflow of new export orders fell further. This month’s IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to rose to a two-month high of [...]
Bottoms up: Greene King heralds heatwave as profits and revenue grow in World Cup year November 29, 2018 Shares in pub owner Greene King ticked up in early morning trading as investors welcomed growing like-for-like sales in its pubs across the UK after a sweltering summer saw drink sales swell. The figures Statutory profit before tax grew 3.2 per cent to £127.7m in the pub chain’s half-year results, compared to the same six [...]
Value of retail property falls to slowest rate in nine years as vacancies and losses take their toll on landlords December 11, 2018 Fresh evidence of the woes facing high street landlords and shopping centre owners emerged today, as new data showed that the value of retail property has fallen by its largest monthly amount in nearly a decade. The value of retail property tumbled 1.9 per cent in November, marking the sector’s sharpest month-on-month drop since May [...]
A-SOS call: Four factors to blame for star online retailer’s shock profit warning December 17, 2018 Online fashion darling Asos' shares fell to their lowest since February 2016 this morning after a shock profit warning. Chief executive Nick Beighton said he's "astonished by an unprecedented level of discounting, something I've not seen before". At the time of writing, Asos was down more than 41 per cent to 2,439p. Here are four factors that led to Asos' [...]
Businesses on both sides of the Channel are fighting for a strong future relationship December 17, 2018 A week is a long time in politics, but the last seven days have felt like an age. The postponement of the Brexit vote, the Prime Minister’s trip to Brussels to try to secure further concessions, then her survival of no confidence by Conservative MPs in the span of a week is remarkable even by [...]
UK debt to soar to financial crisis levels over next five years November 13, 2018 UK debt could rise to £6.7 trillion by 2023, from £5.1 trillion in 2017, according to new research. The UK’s debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is predicted to rise to nearly 260 per cent of GDP, a level not seen since the financial crisis. The debt increase is expected to largely [...]
Consumer confidence edges back down as economic jitters continue October 31, 2017 UK consumer confidence slipped back down in October, as the state of the economy continues to give Britons the jitters. The long-running measure of consumer confidence fell back to a negative reading of 10 overall, GfK will announce today on behalf of the European Commission, jointly the second lowest score since the immediate aftermath of [...]
Britvic profits fizz in the face of challenging year as low sugar alternatives surge November 29, 2018 Britvic, PepsiCo's UK producer, defied a flat retail market hit by a CO2 shortage this summer to exceed expectations in its full year results, giving share prices a five per cent boost. But as traders felt the sugar rush this morning, consumers have done the opposite, moving towards low and zero-sugar alternatives in the wake [...]